Current:Home > NewsAt least 3 dead, 3 missing after landslide hits remote Alaskan town -Wealth Nexus Pro
At least 3 dead, 3 missing after landslide hits remote Alaskan town
View
Date:2025-04-11 14:17:29
A landslide that ripped down a sopping, heavily forested mountainside in southeast Alaska killed three people, injured a woman and left three other people missing as it smashed into three homes in a remote fishing community, authorities said Tuesday.
Rescue crews found the body of a girl in an initial search, and late Tuesday the bodies of two adults were found by a drone operator, the Alaska Department of Public Safety confirmed. Crews resorted to a cadaver-sniffing dog and heat-sensing drones to search for two children and one adult who remained unaccounted for hours after the disaster, while the Coast Guard and other vessels looked along the oceanfront, which was littered with debris from the landslide. The ages of the children were not released.
Three single-family homes were in the path of the landslide when it occurred at about 9 p.m. Monday, according to the Alaska Department of Transportation.
Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said at a news briefing that crews on Tuesday morning rescued a woman who had been on the upper floor of a home that was struck. She was in good condition and undergoing medical care.
The slide was estimated to be about 450 feet wide at the point that it crossed a local highway, the state transportation department reported. It buried a highway and cut off access and power to approximately 75 homes. Boats evacuated residents from the cut-off area to the unaffected part of town, according to the state emergency management office.
The slide remained active as of Tuesday afternoon, according to state troopers, and additional landslides are still possible. All residents in the area were asked to evacuate.
Phone service appeared to be down for the remote community, but officials posted on Facebook that a local food bank was accepting donations and offered a community gathering place at a local bakery.
"Our hearts are heavy and our thoughts are with those suffering due to last night's events," officials wrote on Wrangell's Facebook page.
State troopers were leading search and rescue efforts with the assistance of multiple agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Forest Service.
Wrangell is a coastal village located in southeast Alaska, with a population of just over 2,000, according to the latest census data.
State troopers urged people caught on the other side of the slide, away from Wrangell, to evacuate by water taxi. A shelter has been established.
Wrangell received about 2 inches of rain between 1 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday, with wind gusts up to 60 mph at higher elevations, said Aaron Jacobs, a hydrologist and meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau.
It was part of a strong storm system that moved through southeast Alaska bringing heavy snow in places and blizzard-like conditions to Juneau — and rainfall with minor flooding to areas further south. Landslides also were reported in the Ketchikan area and on Prince of Wales Island, he said.
Another storm system is expected in the Wrangell area late Wednesday into Thursday.
- In:
- Landslide
- Alaska
veryGood! (1647)
Related
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- Nebraska’s Legislature and executive branches stake competing claims on state agency oversight
- GM recalls nearly 820,000 Sierra, Silverado pickup trucks over tailgate safety issue
- Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed as China unveils 5% economic growth target for 2024
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Inflation defined: What is it, what causes it, and what is hyperinflation?
- Landon Barker Shares He Has Tourette Syndrome
- EAGLEEYE COIN: Total Stablecoin Supply Hits $180 Billion
- Bodycam footage shows high
- A revelatory exhibition of Mark Rothko paintings on paper
Ranking
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Of the Subway bread choices, which is the healthiest? Ranking the different types
- Rita Moreno calls out 'awful' women in Hollywood, shares cheeky 'Trump Sandwich' recipe
- Thousands watch as bald eagle parents squabble over whose turn it is to keep eggs warm
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- A woman wins $3.8 million verdict after SWAT team searches wrong home based on Find My iPhone app
- Nab $140 Worth of Isle of Paradise Tanning Butter for $49 and Get Your Glow On
- New Broadway musical Suffs shines a spotlight on the women's suffrage movement
Recommendation
John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
Migrant crossings along the southern border increase as officials prepare for larger spike
Riken Yamamoto, who designs dignity and elegance into daily life, wins Pritzker Prize
In North Carolina, primary voters choosing candidates to succeed term-limited Gov. Roy Cooper
'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
New satellite will 'name and shame' large-scale polluters, by tracking methane gas emissions
E! News Names Keltie Knight New Co-Host
Nab $140 Worth of Isle of Paradise Tanning Butter for $49 and Get Your Glow On